Sex offender accused in Seattle rape less than a week after judge frees him

King County prosecutors say a convicted sex offender kidnapped and raped an 18-year-old woman in Seattle less than a week after a judge allowed him to walk out of jail without posting bail.

The Seattle Times reports that 55-year-old Ricky Lee Lewis has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape and is being held in King County jail on a $1 million bail.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Kessler says he may have made a mistake when he allowed Lewis to go free six days before the March 20 rape. Kessler says prosecutors didn't provide evidence at the time that Lewis would commit a violent crime.

Court documents say Lewis had been convicted of two rapes and had served 10 years in prison before he was released in 2003.